doug spiegelhauer and michael halligan - scratch
SMALL BUSINESS
Melbourne, VIC
Scratch makes dog food you’ll feel good about. In a horribly deceptive and broken market, Scratch has launched its fresher, healthier and more ethical food for Australia’s 4.8 million dogs. Sold online and delivered via a personalised subscription, Scratch takes out dog food’s large retail margins and puts it into the recipe, spending up to 50 per cent more on Australian ingredients (no artificial preservatives or dodgy meats).
We launched Scratch in September after Michael quit his job in January. His dog was sadly in its final months, and he was researching what to feed her. He didn't feel like he trusted any of the brands out there and was kind of horrified with what he was learning – where the brands came from, how unregulated the market was and, most importantly, how they'd make up dozens of deceptive rules to confuse us into not knowing what was really in dog food.
And so, he had an idea that if he could offer the food over the internet without selling in a store, he could spend way more on ingredients without the pet parent having to pay as much. Along the way he met Doug, who was running a company in the pet food industry. He convinced him to leave, and here we are.
